IHC accepts Nawaz’s plea against tampering in JIT head’s statement

by Staff Report , (Last Updated September 4, 2018)

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday directed the Accountability Court-II hearing the two pending corruption references against former premier Nawaz Sharif to record his objections with regard to the alleged alteration in prosecution witness Wajid Zia’s statement.

A two-member bench of IHC comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani was hearing a petition filed by Nawaz Sharif through his counsel Khawaja Haris seeking directives for the trial court to place his objections on the record.

During JIT head Wajid Zia’s cross-examination, Haris alleged that Accountability Judge Arshad Malik had altered the statement of the witness in the Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment references.

He said the judge changed an answer already recorded by the witness on the insistence of the NAB prosecutor.

Haris requested the judges to direct the trial court to take his objections with regard to the alteration part of the record of the graft cases.

While allowing his request, the bench observed that such trivial matters should be resolved in the accountability court.

On Monday, Khawaja Haris had refused to proceed further in the case until an application before the IHC challenging the accountability court judge’s move to allegedly change the witness statement during cross-examination is resolved.

Haris stated that IHC had issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for September 4 and he could not continue cross-examination until his application is decided.

During the last hearing, Haris had accused Judge Arshad of “record tampering” while cross examining the JIT head in the Al-Azizia reference. Haris had alleged that Judge Malik changed Zia’s statement on the insistence of NAB’s Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi without providing his client with an opportunity to contest the prosecutor’s assertions.